USX was born in 2016 as an expedition to Mount Everest to raise awareness of PTSD challenges in the veteran community. Since then, it had evolved into a scientific research agency that connected military veterans with STEM field research opportunities in remote/austere environments. Teams of veterans were able to continue their sense of purpose after military service by utilizing their survival skills to collect data from the summit of Denali to the watery depths of the Atlantic Ocean’s coral reef systems.
In March 2021, we decided to close operations due to funding challenges in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The domain name redirects here for archival purposes of referencing our collection of projects and expeditions for all our team members over the years. If you have any questions, please use the contact form on this website to reach out to former Executive Director, Anesti Vega.
EXPEDITIONS
2019 - Miami Shark Research Expedition
USX partnered with the University of Miami’s Shark Research & Conservation Program for a shark tagging expedition off the coast of Key Biscayne! From 23-27th of October, we worked with Miami’s SRC staff and students in using satellite tags to track the movements of shark species in the subtropical Atlantic. A Shark Conservation Specialty Diving Course will be conducted as well, where the team will be learning about the value of sharks to marine ecosystems and economies, educating them about the causes of declining shark populations, diving to identify and observe encountered sharks, and more.
2019 - Scientific Research Submarine Launch
USX teamed up with the Community Submersibles Project based in Berkeley California to assist with the testing and launch of one of their research vessels in July 2019. The project aimed to host the very first public submersible pilot training program and make ocean exploration accessible to all.
2019 - Big Sur Kelp Forest Expedition
USX partnered with Reef Check California to sponsor a team of veterans, along with other scientific divers, to embark on a four-day research expedition with the mission of monitoring the fish, invertebrates, algae, and habitat data from seven sites along this austere stretch of California coastline. In addition to monitoring efforts, divers also retrieve sensors that have been fixed to the ocean floor for one year and deploy a shiny new one. These temperature sensors collect data year-round, and monitor the fluctuations in the state’s iconic kelp forests as our oceans encounter climate change.
2019 - Juneau Icefield Expedition
2019 USX Juneau Icefield Expedition conducted data collection to determine the viability for long-term snow water equivalent (SWE) derived from glacier mass-balance techniques. This is a citizen science approach where our veteran team traversed over 65 miles across the Juneau Icefield in Southeast Alaska to conduct early season snowpack analysis.
2018 - Florida Coral Reef Expedition
For USX’s very first underwater expedition in October 2018, we worked with Reef Check Foundation to train veteran citizen scientists in a globally standardized scientific protocol and had them conduct transect-based survey dives to assist in establishing and monitoring the health of coral reefs off the Atlantic coast of Florida. The data may then be analyzed and used locally by marine park managers, nationally by fisheries and environment managers, and internationally by organizations including United Nations agencies to help better track and care for coral reefs worldwide.
2018 - Denali Summit Expedition
The mission of the USX 2018 Denali Expedition is to gather research data to assist the science and medical communities in understanding how the human body’s sympathetic and parasympathetic systems change with acclimatization. This data will be harvested using Cardiac Insight’s wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors during a summit expedition of Denali, North America’s highest peak, by USX’s team of military members and veterans from May 14-June 5, 2018.
2017 - Multiple Training Summits
USX teams executed a rigorous training regimen that involved multiple summits throughout the United States, including Mount Whitney, Mount Ranier, and various 14Kers around Colorado.
2016 - Mount Everest Expedition
In May 2016, USX became one of the first organizations to place a combat amputee on the summit of Earth's highest point. This expedition had two goals: raise awareness for service-members struggling through PTSD and use ultrasound technology to look for signs of the onset of high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). USX raised several thousand dollars toward veteran PTSD programs, specifically Stop Soldier Suicide, and gathered hundreds of data points using advanced ultrasonography.